Homeless invited in from the cold

The city's homeless campus offered its courtyard residents indoor shelter Thursday night because a cold front was expected to bring near-freezing temperatures to San Antonio and surrounding areas by sunrise.

Published 9:54 pm, Thursday, November 18, 2010

The city's homeless campus offered its courtyard residents indoor shelter Thursday night because a cold front was expected to bring near-freezing temperatures to San Antonio and surrounding areas by sunrise.

"What we do right now is open up the inside for anybody who wants to come in," said George Block, CEO of Haven for Hope. "But a certain percentage of our clients, because of their mental issues, just don't like being confined. The more people come inside, the more confined they feel. We had 30 clients sleep outside during a recent downpour."

A cold, dry air mass moved into South Central Texas overnight, bringing a freeze warning for low-lying areas by the National Weather Service.

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By opening up indoor areas during inclement weather, including the adjoining cafeteria, the center can house close to 500 clients, who use mats on the floor to sleep.

"We have to be really organized when we open the doors (to the cafeteria)," he said. "We have to put the sex offenders in the chapel, because they can't come onto the main campus, and we have to keep the women separate from the men."

Block said Haven officials are already preparing for a potential late-winter influx of homeless people from northern states seeking the comparative warmth of South Texas. To handle the overflow, shuttles will take Haven outdoor residents to the nearby vacant St. Vincent de Paul thrift store, which can accommodate 165 people overnight.

"We're already doing practice runs, using the staff," he said.

National Weather Center meteorologist Constantine Pastos said it's not unusual for the San Antonio area to experience a freeze at this time of year.

"We sometimes see freezes as early as late October," he said, adding that this winter is predicted to be warmer and drier than average. "But that won't rule out cold spells. We will probably see another cold front coming through at Thanksgiving."